Chapter 646
Episode 164: Land of the Ominous God (8)
Ilina couldn’t make sense of Rosa at all.
Just a couple of hours ago, Rosa had been fiercely guarding her sanity against collapse.
Since making the contract with Ilina, Rosa’s attitude had never wavered—not once. Threats, persuasion, temptation—no matter how Ilina approached her, Rosa never abandoned her principle: she would never fully succumb to the power of chaos.
But now, Rosa was acting completely out of character.
Ilina was certain that if she pushed the chaos any further, Rosa’s mind would shatter.
No—she was absolutely sure.
“If Ram fires his main cannon, she will lose all reason and willpower…!”
Rosa’s breaking was exactly what Ilina had hoped for all along.
But the timing was all wrong. After expending so much chaos energy, if Rosa’s will—the crucial link—vanished now, recovery would take far too long.
If the enemies regrouped and struck the Garden of Swords again during that time, Ilina wouldn’t be able to handle it.
Unlike the two major factions who were losing fleet strength, Jin had only sustained personal injuries. None were fatal, so recovery wouldn’t take long.
“Yes, that’s right. I’ve long awaited Rosa’s collapse. But if she breaks now, I can’t bear the consequences alone. I’m serious. You never intended for this to happen from the start, did you?”
The main cannon was finishing its charge.
“If you’d made this choice before summoning the Ten Knights, before Rosa herself stepped in, it would have been a relief for me. But now… no. This is a foolish decision unworthy of Rosa!”
[So you’re scared after all.]
Rosa’s eyes gleamed darkly.
In the end, Ilina dropped to her knees, begging Rosa to stop, but naturally—
Rosa had no intention of halting.
[Only I… can break the youngest. I alone can sever the shining child’s protective bonds.]
KRAAAASH…!
Ram’s main cannon tore through the sky again, slicing it in two with a black streak.
It was like a tidal wave of darkness crashing behind Murakan.
Even Murakan, who had been effortlessly deflecting Rosa’s secret techniques, was shaken by Ram’s main cannon.
[This madness…!]
There was no way to dodge.
The cannon that had already devastated the G-2 fleet now wielded an even more terrifying power.
Heh, ha ha ha…!
Amid the deafening roar of the cannon, Rosa’s laughter—madness incarnate—echoed. The sky and earth, soaked in chaos, laughed with her.
“Upward!”
Jin shouted.
Murakan had planned to descend while blocking the cannon fire, but as always, he followed Jin’s lead.
Jin believed it was better for Ram’s bombardment to focus upward.
Though it meant moving further from the escape point, if Ram’s cannon fired downward, the forest where the Red Owl resided would be obliterated.
That would end any chance of escape. The moment Murakan was forced to retreat, the rest of the group would be doomed.
Murakan accelerated upward. The spiritual energy shields and veils behind him were shredded.
Before they could fully break, the shockwaves began to hit. Jin and Kaio barely held onto consciousness through the pain.
[KRAAAAH…!]
Murakan burst through the chaos cloud, escaping the bombardment.
The spiritual shields were battered to shreds but suffered no fatal damage.
They quickly regenerated. Even Jin admired Murakan’s resilience at that moment. But the problem was—the bombardment wasn’t over.
[Ugh…! That reload can’t be fast, right?]
“That’s right.”
Unlike Murakan, who flew straight ahead, Jin looked back to check Ram’s status.
“The Abyssal Vessel, Ram, is opening that dark maw again. A new cannon is already forming.”
[Damn it, if it weren’t for that Orgal bastard forcing me to conserve power, escape would have been nearly impossible…]
Rosa’s maniacal laughter continued to weigh heavily on the group’s minds. It felt as if Ram itself was mocking them.
A chill ran down their spines.
If Gliek had awakened the primal fear of life itself, Rosa’s madness now was carving a dark pit deep into the hearts of those watching.
Not chaos, but something human—a bitter grudge piercing through their souls like ice.
[Ooooh…]
Rosa sighed in admiration.
It was a strange feeling. Though she fired the cannon to kill him, the fact that he survived as always filled her with insane joy.
She thought she had never felt such happiness in her life.
The power gathered in Ram’s maw aimed once more at Murakan.
Though it looked like a mere speck from afar, Rosa felt as if her son was right before her eyes.
“No… no…!”
At that moment, Ilina judged that Rosa’s mind had completely broken.
She had to stop her before the second shot. Rosa seemed determined to keep firing until Ram was utterly destroyed.
Thud!
A dagger plunged into Rosa’s back. It was the knife Ilina had drawn from her cloak.
The blade pierced through her spine and straight into her heart. Rosa flinched briefly and stopped moving.
“Stop! You’ll die too if you keep this up!”
Rosa didn’t turn to look at Ilina. She didn’t even glance at the blade protruding from her chest.
Instead, she fired the cannon. A grotesque, metallic laugh escaped her dry lips.
This time, she drew in even the last remnants of chaos protecting Ram.
“If this continues, it’s all over…!”
Ilina, her legs weak, barely pulled the dagger from Rosa’s back.
She tried to stab her neck next, but—
For some reason, her body wouldn’t obey.
More precisely, no matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t move. Something invisible was binding her.
Crackling—crunch!
At the same time, Ram’s massive hull tilted sharply to the right. With its shields down, the two major factions’ fleets began striking Ram in earnest.
Among the thousands of cannon shots, some hit the very front of Ram where they stood.
Holes appeared everywhere on the prow, and sharp fragments and debris pierced Rosa’s body.
Ilina could have easily deflected such bombardment.
If only her body would move. If only she could wield the bound chaos power again—it would be as easy as breathing.
But she could do nothing. Frozen in place, she could only watch the bombardment rain down, still poised to stab Rosa.
“What… what is holding me back!?”
Ilina’s heart pounded violently as she watched Rosa’s back.
“No way… Rosa can’t—!”
A human who had lost reason and become a chaos monster couldn’t possibly bind her.
Yet it was clearly Rosa’s power restraining her.
“C-could it be… you… haven’t finished merging… yet…?”
[Quiet…]
When Rosa spoke, terror filled Ilina’s eyes.
[Be quiet… I don’t want to be disturbed by anyone right now.]
Slowly, the bonds holding Ilina loosened. She collapsed, gasping for breath, forced to obey Rosa’s words.
Literally overwhelmed.
By the woman named Rosa Runkandel.
[Do you see it too, youngest? The countless enemies rushing to kill this mother, their bombardment! Yet not a single shot touches me directly. I don’t even need to block or dodge.]
Because it’s fate.
No petty thing can interfere with the fate between you and me.
Just as Rosa said, despite the barrage striking the prow, not a single shot hit her directly. All missed, only fragments bouncing off.
Wholeheartedly.
Rosa’s entire being focused solely on the youngest. She imagined only the moment of shooting that child dead.
A smile spread across Rosa’s lips.
At the same time, Ram’s second cannon began to extend toward Murakan. The abyssal darkness was closing in on the group once more.
Murakan’s allotted time was running out—at the worst possible moment.
“Downward!”
This time, descent.
It was the end anyway. Murakan would vanish, and the group had no power left to stop the second bombardment.
Murakan’s time would end before the shot landed.
[Kid!]
“I won’t die…!”
Jin gripped Talaris and Mott with all his strength.
Then, holding Bradamante in his mouth so the blade pointed downward.
Kaio immediately understood Jin’s plan.
“Aim point!”
“Center of the forest!”
Kaio quickly drove his feet into the wounds on Murakan’s back to steady himself. He drew the great bowstring, aiming Bradamante’s blade.
By then, Murakan’s form had become translucent, and Ram’s shot was about to strike his tail.
Shoo!
Their eyes met, and Kaio released the bowstring.
Thwack…!
The arrow struck Bradamante’s blade.
It felt as if his head was being torn off and his waist bent, but Jin endured the terrible recoil coursing through his body.
Holding Talaris and Mott tightly with both arms.
Jin began to fall toward the forest where the Red Owl dwelled. The arrow magnetically attached to Bradamante’s blade carried Kaio’s final will—to save his brothers.
The moment Ram’s main cannon struck them—
Murakan vanished, his gaze locked on Jin, while Kaio gave a thumbs-up from high above.
His arrow unleashed a tremendous force, driving Jin, Talaris, and Mott deep into the heart of the forest.
“Ugh…!”
Spitting out a mouthful of blood, Jin immediately scrambled to his feet, checking on Talaris and Mott.
Talaris was barely conscious, battered by internal injuries and the arrow’s impact. Mott lay motionless, as if dead.
Looking around, the Red Owl was nowhere in sight.
Though they’d fallen near the forest’s center, they were still about five hundred paces away from the Red Owl.
“Which way…?”
At a moment like this, the forest felt like a labyrinth.
The next barrage was about to fall somewhere within these woods.
[Bo… Oooh…]
Just as confusion threatened to overwhelm him, Mott opened a dimensional gate to the otherworldly snowfield. The pristine white expanse was marred by chaotic black patches scattered across the landscape.
If the margin of error had been more than a thousand paces, Mott wouldn’t have been able to open the gate. Fatefully, the last of his strength allowed for exactly five hundred paces—no more.
Stepping through the portal, Mott sprinted a few steps across the snowy realm, then sent Jin and Talaris to the Red Owl’s location.
Calm and swift, Jin hoisted Talaris onto his back and climbed aboard the Red Owl’s cabin.
Pressing the button at the center of the cabin, the Red Owl began to hum with magical energy, accelerating rapidly.
It would take about ten seconds to build enough speed for a spatial jump.
“All that’s left now is to hope the next barrage doesn’t land inside…!”
One.
Two.
Three…
…
Nine.
The spatial jump began.
Enveloped in the familiar daze that came with spatial jumps, Jin looked up at Ram.
He felt as if his eyes met Rosa’s.
[You’ll come back to me soon enough, won’t you? I’ll be waiting…]
Rosa stared at the forest where Jin had vanished, steadying the overwhelming surge of exhilaration swelling in her chest.